Errol Gulden has obliterated a 100-game AFL statistic that historically has been the pride of some of the game’s very best players. And he’s only played 90 games.

The 22-year-old Swans ace has had 479 inside 50’s, a statistic introduced in 1998 which measures the number of times a player sends the ball inside his team’s forward 50m zone, whether by kick, handball or carry.

Despite having played 10 fewer games, his three inside 50s against Adelaide on Saturday night took him past the first 100-game record for most inside 50’s held by Brisbane Brownlow Medallist and 300-game champion Simon Black (478).

Completing the top five are Port Adelaide’s Danyle Pearce (467), Geelong/Melbourne midfielder Brent Moloney (461) and Gold Coast’s Noah Anderson (460).

In just his fourth season, Gulden leads the League this year for inside 50s with 151 from Anderson (139), Fremantle’s Hayden Young (134), Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli (130) and Adelaide captain Jordan Dawson (129).

More impressively, Gulden’s inside 50 game average of 6.57 is better than the season average of all but eight of the 26 players who have topped the league year-by-year since 1998.

Patrick Dangerfield’s 8.08 average for Geelong in 2016 is the single season best, from Nathan Buckley’s 7.94 for Collingwood in 1998 and 7.48 in 2000, Nick Daffy’s 7.23 for Richmond in 1998, Jason Akermanis’ 6.88 for Brisbane in 2004, Christian Petracca’s 6.84 at Melbourne in 2021, and Dayne Zorko’s 6.75 at Brisbane in 2019.

Also, Gulden’s career average of 6.67 is well above the career average of the top five on the all-time inside 50’s aggregate count among current players - Dangerfield (4.96), Port’s Travis Boak (4.04), Collingwood’s Scott Pendlebury (3.63), Richmond’s Dustin Martin (4.71) and Brisbane’s Dayne Zorko (4.53).

The now retired Martin has topped the League for inside 50s three times, while Buckley, Dangerfield, Pearce and Petracca did so twice.

One-time winners include Sydney’s Adam Goodes and Kieren Jack, plus Akermanis, Zorko, the Bulldogs’ Bontempelli and Bob Murphy, West Coast’s Ben Cousins, Carlton’s Craig Bradley and Chris Judd, Daffy, Adelaide’s Simon Goodwin, Brisbane’s Michael Voss, Collingwood’s Dane Swan, Geelong’s Gary Ablett Jnr and Melbourne’s Adem Yze.

So, at an early age Gulden is in extraordinary company – this group of 20 includes 10 Brownlow Medallists and 10 club captains.

Gulden had a career-best 15 inside 50’s in the Swans’ Round 18 win over North Melbourne at the SCG this year – a mark that has been bettered by only five players across all clubs since 1998. And only by one.

Adelaide captain Mark Riccuito had 16 in 1998 and was followed by North Melbourne captain Adam Simpson (1999), Dangerfield (2016), GWS’ Josh Kelly (2018) and Richmond’s Jayden Short (2022), all with 16.

Thirteen Sydney players have shared the distinction of topping the club’s inside 50 count over 26 seasons. Daryn Cresswell did so four times in 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2002, while Goodes and Ryan O’Keefe claimed three ‘inside 50’ titles.

Stuart Maxfield, Jude Bolton, Kieren Jack, Dan Hannebery, Lance Franklin and Ollie Florent have two, and Lewis Jetta, Luke Parker, Chad Warner and Gulden one. With Gulden so far ahead this year you can put it in the book.

Gulden’s 147 inside 50s last year is the club record from Jack’s 145 in 2013, Goodes’ 136 in 2011, Warner’s 134 in 2022 and Jack’s 129 in 2012.

In other home-and-away statistics:

Nick Blakey ranked 3^rd in the League for rebound 50s with 135, behind Fremantle’s Luke Ryan (170) and West Coast’s Jeremy McGovern (139).

James Rowbottom has figured prominently in total tackles and pressure acts despite missing three games with injury.  He ranks 4^th for tackles at 160 behind Gold Coast’s Matt Rowell (184), North’s Tristan Xerri (173) and St Kilda’s Jack Steele (169), and 5^th for pressure acts at 571, behind Rowell (706), Fremantle’s Andrew Brayshaw (596), Melbourne’s Todd Viney (582) and Steele (573).

Brodie Grundy was equal 2^nd in the League for hit-outs to advantage. He had 210 behind only Adelaide’s Reilly O’Brien (259) and equal with Richmond’s Toby Nankervis (210).

The Swans, minor premiers for the 10^th time in club history, got through the home-and-away season using the least number of players (31) and making the fewest team changes (34).

In the player count, it was Sydney (31) from Port Adelaide (34), GWS (34) and Hawthorn (34). And in changes, Sydney (34) were well clear of Hawthorn (41), Brisbane (41) and Fremantle (43).

At the other end of the scale, Richmond used most players at 42, from West Coast (39), North Melbourne (39) and Adelaide (39) and made a League-high 73 changes from West Coast (63), Gold Coast (62) and Geelong (61).

Sydney had nine players who played each home-and-away game – Gulden, Blakey, Ollie Florent, Jake Lloyd, Grundy, James Jordan, Will Hayward, Hayden McLean and Logan McDonald. Collingwood also had nine, equal with North Melbourne, while only Brisbane (11) had more.  Richmond had just one.

Not only did they finish top of the home-and-away ladder, but Sydney also boasted the No.1 percentage at 126.7% from sixth-placed Western Bulldogs (125.1) and fifth-placed Brisbane (121.9).

The Swans ranked 1^st in the League for points scored, averaging 97.5 points per game to head Western Bulldogs (94.4) and Geelong (94.1). They were 7^th in the League for points against in the competition, despite being only 1.5 points per game behind the Bulldogs (75.4). Brisbane (76.0) were second and Port (76.2) third.

Also, the Swans had an equal competition-high seven interstate wins – four in Victoria, two in SA and one in WA. Port also had seven interstate wins – five in Victoria, one in Perth and one in Hobart.